Thanks to everyone who participated in our naming contest.
Coming up with trade names for corals can be a challenging process. Some people don’t like them, other people won’t buy a coral without one. We like trade names because we feel it is important to honor the history of a coral whenever possible. ORA has always done it’s best to recognize and respect existing names. Sometimes we wind up growing a coral that looks similar to an existing strain but cannot be traced back to it, our Purple Undata is an excellent example. It is strikingly similar to the Idaho Grape but the two corals are not directly related. Rather than create an “impostor” coral that diminishes the significance of the original strain we have always chosen to come up with a new name and let the hobbyist decide if they want the original, or perhaps both.
Here’s how ORA can use your help: Our next coral is ready for release but we are anticipating that the name is going to be hotly contested. The Echinopora that we are about to release looks just like the Hollywood Stunner however it’s “roots” cannot be traced back to that coral. We did a little bit of research and it doesn’t look like the Hollywood Stunner has one original source, anything that resembles it seems to bear the name. Our particular strain came to us from Julian Sprung. He gave us a big piece when he was breaking down an outdoor aquarium last year. Julian is certain that this coral came from a small shop/coral farm somewhere in Germany. According to Julian, “It LOOKS like Hollywood stunner, and it certainly is E. lamellosa, but it may be that they entered the trade at different times, and possibly from different places, so there may be differences in the growth rate and final appearance.”
What do you think we should name this coral?
Green Polyp Echinopora
Hollywood Stunner
Julian’s Chalice
Sprung’s Stunner
The poll ends Sunday, May 1st at 8pm Eastern. One lucky participant will be chosen at random to receive a free piece of this coral!
UPDATE: With 50 votes, Sprung’s Stunner is the clear winner. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote! Read more about Sprung’s Stunner here.
